Day 40

Today I made a micro-loan to Maria in Mórrope, Lambayeque, Peru using Kiva.

Maria is seeking a loan "to purchase medium turkeys to gain weight and resell for Christmas." (I have a sister-in-law named Maria who is Peruvian. How could I not pick this loan?)

If you have any interest in making micro-loans via Kiva, using this link will give an extra $25 to someone. You can loan as little as $25, and once your loan is paid back, you can loan it out again to someone else.

Days 37, 38, and 39

On Day 37, I dropped some books into the donation basket outside a local school.

On Day 38, I donated some books to a favorite local book shop in hopes they could sell them.

On Day 39, I donated some books to our local library.

(Is anybody picking up on the theme this week? Okay, so I messed up on Monday. I don't know if I can really get a full week out of this anyway.)

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Day 36

Today I bought a flock of chickens for people I don't know in a faraway land. The Heifer International website puts it better than I can:

A flock of chicks can help families add nourishing, life-sustaining eggs to their inadequate diets. The protein in just one egg is a nutritious gift for a hungry child. Protein-packed eggs from even a single chicken can make a life-saving difference.

Heifer helps many hungry families with a starter flock of 10 to 50 chicks. A good hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year - plenty to eat, share or sell. With Heifer recipients' commitment to pass on the offspring and training, the exponential impact of adding chickens to communities in poverty is truly a model that helps end hunger and poverty.

Because chickens require little space and can thrive on readily available food scraps, families can make money from the birds without spending much. And chickens help control insects and fertilize gardens.

Day 35

Today I supported our local library system. Okay, so I got a bag of books in return. But that's okay, they were raising funds and I provided some funds. A win-win. And I think everybody in the family ended up with at least one book, so really a win-win-win-win-win-win-win. Or thereabouts.

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Day 34

Today I ran in the Orange County Special Education PTA "Exceptional Race for Exceptional People" 5k. Since I have been a little light on activities this week, I also showed up early to help set up. 

I shaved a full two minutes off my time from the 5k three weeks ago, which just goes to prove that an effective way to train for 5k's is to just show up.

I have to say I feel a lot less destroyed than last time. I did a better job of pacing myself I guess.

I also learned why the the town of Hillsborough was not named Flatsborough.

No pressure with that bibb number.

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Day 33

Today I made a donation to Feeding America, to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy. I've got friends & family in the region. (Who doesn't, for that matter?)

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Day 32

Today I had to pick up some things at Aldi. If you don't have those, it's an odd sort of grocery store with very cheap stuff. One of the quirks is that to get a grocery cart, you have to put a quarter in a slot, and when you return it, you get your quarter back. So today I used up all the quarters in my pocket to free up grocery carts for the next person.